


Solitary Spark

by mistynights



Series: Bakoda Fleet Week 2020 [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25622248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistynights/pseuds/mistynights
Summary: Fire as seen throughout Hakoda's life.
Relationships: Bato/Hakoda (Avatar)
Series: Bakoda Fleet Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851787
Comments: 11
Kudos: 42
Collections: Bakoda Fleet Week 2020





	Solitary Spark

**Author's Note:**

> Bakoda Fleet Week day three. For the prompt **smoke** , though I went more with fire in general (hopefully that still counts). This came from the thought that yes, it is the _Water_ Tribe, but fire would still be super important there. And also the thought that there's no way that burn didn't affect Bato in some way. There's some pining Bato in this, though it's not very explicit because Hakoda is oblivious. Enjoy.
> 
> Title from Hurt by MIKA

In the South Pole, fire is a necessity. The pole’s freezing temperatures mean that warmth is a precious thing, vital for survival. Lighting and keeping a fire is one of the first things any kid learns in the tribe; what materials can be used as fuel in an absence of wood, how to hit rocks to make them spark, where it’s safe to light a fire. Most importantly, a child learns that fire spreads and that, just as it keeps them all alive, it also has the potential to hurt.

As a child, Hakoda doesn’t like having to light the fire in his parents’ igloo. Flint is tricky and his hands can snap the rocks for hours with no results. But fire comes easily for Bato. His fingers are always quick and nimble as he snaps pieces of flint together. Hakoda often finds himself mesmerized as he watches sparks fly in response to Bato’s movements. He jokes once, when they’re alone in his room, that maybe Bato is secretly a firebender. Bato rolls his eyes in response, punches Hakoda lightly in the arm, but there’s a smile on his face he can’t quite hide.

That joke is not so funny anymore when the Fire Nation raids start anew.

***

Fire isn’t always just about warmth. The Pole is plunged in darkness for almost half the months in a year and torches, while useful when in the tribe, don’t work well in a hunt. So the kids, too, learn how to make lamps to guide their steps through the snow. And, when they grow older, the tribesmen take them out to shore and teach them how to get the blubber out of the whale-walruses they hunt to fuel the lamps.

Just as Bato is great at lighting fires, Hakoda excels at collecting blubber. He’s always quick and methodical in his work, always makes sure to waste nothing in the process. Bato wrinkles his nose whenever he has to strip blubber from a carcass, which makes Hakoda laugh, because Bato has no problem gutting and preparing the animals they hunt; it’s just the blubber that makes him squeamish.

But that’s fine, because Hakoda is always by his side and he doesn’t mind the blubber, just as Bato doesn’t mind flints.

***

He marries Kya and the two of them build an igloo of their own. Bato still lives in the same igloo his parents’ built years ago, but it’s just him now, so he’s often at their place.

He and Hakoda spend together most days, hunting and fishing and looking after the affairs of the tribe. But nights are dedicated to Kya. It’s an unspoken arrangement between them; Bato will sit with them by the fire, will eat with them, will share his stories, but he’ll leave as soon as dinner is done. Sometimes, he thinks he catches a glimpse of something like sadness in Bato’s eyes when he looks at Hakoda and Kya, but then Bato’ll move so the fire illuminates him completely and the something fades like it was never there.

Whatever it might be, Hakoda never remembers to ask about it, caught as he is in the bliss of Kya next to him.

***

When Sokka’s time comes to learn about fire, Kya and Hakoda exchange a silent look and nod. Both of them have taught Sokka many things throughout the years, but fire requires a level of patience and dedication that neither of them truly has. Bato, of course, is the obvious choice. He looks at them with wary eyes when they ask him, but he accepts nonetheless. He has, after all, taught some of the other children from the tribe, he knows how to do it.

Sokka is a fast learner but, more than that, he’s a reverent learner. He takes knowledge in with serious eyes, and then replicates what he’s learnt with ease. After lessons, Hakoda sees Bato ruffling Sokka’s hair, a soft if pained smile on his face. Sokka never seems to notice, too happy at the praise to care about much else. Hakoda does notice, though, and he worries.

But he never brings it up because Bato, as close a friend as he may be, is reserved and closes off whenever someone tries to poke through his thoughts.

***

Unlike Sokka, Katara doesn’t take to fire easily. She’s more like Hakoda in that sense. Maybe it’s because she’s a waterbender, maybe because she’s more set on her ways than her brother. Whatever the case, she struggles through the motions of snapping flint and blowing on embers. But she’s persistent and, eventually, Bato deems her prepared enough. She won’t be like Bato, with fingers that seem to carry sparks of their own, but she’ll be able to survive, and that’s the only thing that really matters in all of this.

***

There’s no fire during funerals in the Southern Water Tribe. When someone dies, the whole tribe escorts the body to shore, where the ceremony is held, illuminated only by the light from the sun or the moon, depending on the time of year. Just as the world is now cold and dark for the deceased, so must it be for those who are mourning them.

After Kya’s funeral, Hakoda feels like a part of him has died too. He doesn’t light a fire, when he gets back to the igloo after saying his last goodbyes. If he is to freeze, then so be it. At least then he’ll be with Kya. The kids are with their grandmother, too, so he knows they’ll be alright even if he isn’t. He falls asleep shivering under the thick furs of his bed, thinking of what will come next.

He wakes up to the warmth of a well-kept fire, and Bato’s sorrowful eyes staring at him from the other side of the igloo.

***

Fire is a delicate thing when in a wooden boat. A stray flame can catch the wrong material and set the whole thing ablaze. Lamps are safer, but even those can tumble and fall. When the tribesmen set sail in their boats to fight in the Earth Kingdom, they have to be careful. Their fleet has suffered greatly with the war and they can’t take the chances of losing another ship. So the men huddle in groups under furs and blankets, and together they shiver and hope they’ll be out of the Pole’s waters soon.

Hakoda, as chief, tries to keep to himself, eyes set on the distance in case a problem arises. He gets away with it the first day of travel. But on the second day Bato comes to him with a thick blanket and hugs him from behind so they are both covered by it. Hakoda has no option but to lean into it, and if he sighs in relief at the warmth, Bato is at least smart enough not to mention it.

***

They anchor once they reach the Earth Kingdom and they light a fire. They don’t really need it, now that they are in warmer climates. A couple torches should be enough, really, but sitting around the fire and sharing stories lifts the men’s spirits for the first time since leaving home, so Hakoda won’t take it away from them. It becomes a sort of ritual for them, a way to keep their hope. Even if they’ve lost warriors during the day, at night they will all gather around the fire and talk.

Bato always sits next to Hakoda, close enough that their arms brush whenever one of them moves. Hakoda wonders sometimes, if maybe Bato is cold even in the Earth Kingdom weather. It’s a ridiculous thought, but Hakoda can’t—won’t—think of an alternative reason for their closeness.

***

When Bato gets burned, Hakoda’s mind screeches to a halt. Around him, the battle continues, but Hakoda can’t focus on anything other than Bato and the fire that surrounds him and the smoke that rises, carrying with it the smell of burnt flesh.

A firebender comes towards him, but Hakoda steps away from him and towards Bato in an almost automatic move. Time stops working properly when Bato falls to his knees, body curled in around his burned arm. In between blinks, Hakoda is by his side, and then he’s cradling Bato’s face in his hands to see if he’s conscious, and then he’s carrying Bato, and then he’s far away from the battle. Anything in between that is a blur that Hakoda can’t decipher. But that’s fine, because Bato’s in his arms and he’s safe for now.

***

They get captured, after the eclipse, and thrown into a cell somewhere in the Caldera city. The cell is big to better fit large groups inside, but there’s a single torch shining from above the cell’s door. The Water Tribe warriors gather in small groups in the corners, watch with fearful eyes as, one by one, the guards take them for interrogations that last for hours to try and find who the mind behind the attack is.

Hakoda sits at the far side of the cell, his back against the wall, Bato’s body pressed against his side. They whisper to each other; sometimes plans, sometimes anecdotes, sometimes wishes that will never come true.

Between them, their fingers tangle together. There’s a quiet understanding of feelings long buried, but neither ever says anything out loud. Things are still too unsure, too precarious, and there seems to be a shared thought that speaking about this thing growing between them will make it disappear like smoke in the night.

When the soldiers come, some days later, asking for the Tribe’s chief, Hakoda squeezes Bato’s hand once—both a goodbye and a promise—, and stands up.

***

After the war, fire doesn’t come to Bato as easily. His injured arm shakes and trembles when he grips the flints and the flames sometimes make his eyes glaze over with memories. It frustrates him, Hakoda can tell; his face grows sharp, hard, his hands begin moving with a frantic energy so unlike Bato, his jaw tenses.

Whenever he sees it, Hakoda kneels next to him, takes Bato’s hands in his, kisses each finger reverently until the tension leaves him. And then he takes the flints and clicks them together until sparks begin to appear

The thing between them is no longer left unsaid. They have both had time to think, to talk, and they agree that it’s love that has taken root in their hearts. It’s been there for a long time—longer in Bato’s case, longer than Hakoda could have ever imagined—and now, with the fighting over and peace slowly spreading through the world, they have all the time they may need to nurture it and let it grow.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://misty--nights.tumblr.com/)


End file.
